Our Impact
Since 1988, the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program (PNPP) has planted and stewarded trees in Providence through community-based partnerships, in order to create a more robust and equitable urban forest.
We work in close partnership with the Forestry Division of the Providence Parks Department to provide free street trees to Providence residents through our Neighborhood Street Tree Planting Awards, which are funded through a 50/50 match between the Mary Elizabeth Sharpe Street Tree Endowment and the City.
We also train and empower residents to become Providence Community Tree Keepers, work to build awareness of the value and importance the urban forest and tree equity, and support community-based models of tree stewardship to help ensure that everyone can enjoy the benefits of healthy trees where they live, work, learn and play.
PNPP is also one of the lead partners behind the PVD Tree Plan: a community-driven initiative to develop an equity-focused strategic vision and action plan for creating a healthy and equitable urban forest in Providence. We worked alongside frontline community members, the City, and other community-based organizations to create the plan, which was released in December 2023. Now, we’re working together to bring its vision to life!
By the numbers:
16,000+
street trees planted — over half the street trees in the city today!
1,500+
streets with new trees
25
Providence neighborhoods served
200+
tree species and varieties planted
360+
residents trained as Providence Community Tree Keepers
86+
Neighborhood Tree Leaders recruited
Every single year, the trees we’ve planted:
- Remove 20,135 pounds of pollution from the air we breathe
- Sequester 36,3559 tons of carbon — equivalent to the output of 71,081 gas-powered cars or 41,539 homes!
- Prevent 5.5 million gallons of polluted stormwater runoff from entering Rhode Island waterways
Check out our 2024 Annual Report:
PNPP-2024-Annual-Report-FinalRead more about our work:
Three-way partnership launches in Providence – Bloom RI (April 2025)
Trees, Heat and Human Health – Brown University Swearer Center for Public Service (March 2025)
Providence Counts: Plant a Tree – Providence Eye (March 2025)
Does your street or neighborhood need more trees? – Providence Eye (December 2024)
People to Watch 2025: Cassie Tharinger leads push for 30,000 new trees in Providence – Providence Journal (December 2024)
As RI’s temperatures grow hotter, local groups working to cool down ‘heat islands’ – Boston Globe (April 2024)
How to stop flooding in the city of Providence? Plant 30,000 trees – Rhode Island Current (February 2024)
PVD Tree Plan Aims to Bring More Green to Neighborhoods – ecoRI (January 2024)
Tree equity taking root in Rhode Island – Rhode Island PBS (October 2023)
Investing in urban forestry workforce innovation – American Forests (April 2023)
Providence Neighborhood Planting Program Sows Seeds for an Urban Forest – Hey Rhody (April 2023)
Community organizations look to build out Providence’s urban forest – Brown Daily Herald (April 2023)
Growing Canopy & Community in South Providence: Impact Certification Report – City Forest Credits (February 2023)
How the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program fostered community leadership in low-canopy communities – American Forests (2023)
Establishing Roots for Healthier Communities – USDA Story Map
Unlocking Tree Equity Score: How a Providence, Rhode Island non-profit is partnering with their community to take Tree Equity to the next level – American Forests
Providence’s Street Trees Aren’t Distinctively Native on Purpose – ecoRI (October 2021)
In Providence an Unfair Tale of Two Tree Canopies – ecoRI (September 2021)
Providence, RI: Climate & Health Adaptation on a Neighborhood Scale – Climate Change Response Framework (January 2021)
Reshaping Providence’s Urban Forest – The Indy (March 2016)
Urban Tree Canopy Must Cover Every Neighborhood – ecoRI (May 2014)
10,000th tree planted in Providence marks 25th anniversary of endowment – Providence Journal (October 2013)